Mulan

Mulan disguises herself as a man to take her father Fa Zhou's place in the Imperial Army. Her elderly father has been conscripted to fight against the Huns, and Mulan knows he would not survive the harsh military campaign. To protect him, she cuts her long hair, takes his sword and armor, and assumes the identity of a man named Fa Ping. This act stems from her deep filial piety and her desire to bring honor to her family despite failing the traditional path of becoming a suitable wife.

Mulan is discovered when she is severely wounded during the mountain ambush. While Shang and the other soldiers tend to her injuries, they find blood soaking through her chest bindings and realize she is a woman. The discovery happens in the aftermath of the avalanche she triggered using the Huolongchushui cannon to bury the Hun forces.

Despite military law requiring execution for a woman impersonating a soldier, Shang chooses to spare Mulan's life. He is influenced by his growing respect for her skills, bravery, and the fact that she saved his life during the Hun ambush. Rather than executing her, Shang expels her from the army according to protocol, but he cannot bring himself to kill someone who has proven herself a capable and loyal soldier.

Mulan defeats Shan Yu by luring him onto the palace roof during the Huns' siege of the Imperial City. She disarms him using his own sword to pin him down. Then, guided by Mulan, Mushu uses a skyrocket to launch Shan Yu into the fireworks launching tower, where he is killed in the explosion. This clever use of the environment neutralizes the Hun leader without a direct confrontation.

The Emperor honors Mulan because she saved the Imperial City from the Hun invasion and rescued him from captivity. Her actions defeated Shan Yu and his army, protecting the entire empire. The Emperor recognizes that her bravery and sacrifice outweigh the crime of impersonating a soldier, and he personally bows to her in gratitude, offering her a place on his royal council.

Mushu is reinstated as the official guardian of the Fa family temple after the battle. At the start of the story, he was a disgraced dragon guardian who was demoted from his position. He redeemed himself by helping Mulan throughout her journey, providing guidance and comic relief, and his actions finally earn him restoration of his guardian status among the ancestors.

Mulan declines the Emperor's offer to join the royal council because she values her family and personal journey more than political power. She returns home to be with her father Fa Zhou, presenting him with the Emperor's crest and Shan Yu's sword as tokens of her achievement. Her choice represents finding honor on her own terms rather than accepting societal accolades that would require her to remain in the capital.

Mushu forges a letter from General Li, Shang's father, ordering Shang to march with the main imperial army into the mountains. This deception prompts Shang to leave the training camp with his reinforcements. The ruse leads to the mountain ambush where the Huns slaughter General Li's troops, setting up the devastating battle that Mulan survives and ultimately turns against the Huns using the avalanche.

Mulan cuts her long hair as part of assuming her male disguise. In ancient China, a woman's hair was a symbol of her identity and beauty, and cutting it was considered a significant departure from tradition. By cutting her hair, Mulan symbolically abandons her expected role as a proper woman to take on the masculine identity of Fa Ping, demonstrating her determination to save her father at any personal cost.

The matchmaker scene establishes Mulan's initial struggle to fit into traditional society. She fails to meet the standards of a proper woman expected by her culture, being deemed a disgrace after mishaps during the ceremony. This scene foreshadows her eventual rejection of conventional paths and demonstrates that her true strengths lie outside the expected roles for women, setting up her heroic journey that defies all tradition.

Shan Yu and a small number of his elite warriors survive the avalanche Mulan triggers because they are positioned at the front of the column and manage to escape the main burial. While the bulk of the Hun army is destroyed, Shan Yu's survival allows him to lead a direct assault on the Imperial City, creating the final conflict that Mulan must face.

Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po are Mulan's fellow recruits at the training camp who become her friends. They undergo the same harsh training and later fight alongside her during the Hun ambush. Their friendship provides comedic moments and demonstrates Mulan's ability to form bonds with others even under her disguise. They later support her during the final battle in the Imperial City.